Federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson says a decision to increase the punishment for child molester Graham James has helped maintain faith in the system.

The Manitoba Court of Appeal more than doubled the sentence for the former junior hockey coach to five years from two.

Nicholson says people lose faith when they feel that the consequences of breaking the law are inadequate.

He says he's please that the Appeal Court has recognized that children must be protected from sexual predators.

He reminds that the Harper government is planning to introduce legislation this year to further crack down on what he calls child sexual predators.

James was sentenced last year for sexually assaulting retired N-H-L star Theo Fleury and his cousin when they played junior hockey.

The Appeal Court said the original trial judge gave James too much credit for the time he served for previous sex assault convictions in 1997.